Brewie

[HarkinBanks]

That is the first B+ I have seen with the upgraded wires and silicone end coverings from the factory. Unfortunately they used the same bad adhesive that they used on prior versions. They would have been better off using nothing. I would suggest unhooking the wires and use an exacto knife or some other tool to scrape all of that off. Check the wire ends to see if they have been damaged. There shouldn’t be much. If there is, cut back just a bit and crimp new spade connectors and then protect with silicone tape. The wires can be reused if you cut back to clean wire.

 

[Still Brewn]

Looks like it, yes.
I used some super fine sandpaper to clean up the terminal ends.

Note- you may not have to replace the wires, perhaps just the end connectors (and then use the flex grip tape above to wrap several times.)

Others here may disagree and suggest you replace the wires. Might be worth it since you already have it open.

You can easily tell if you need to replace them by cutting off the ends and stripping bact the cover, if the copper wire is any color other than a bright copper color (will start off by turning a rose/copper color) replace them.

That is the first B+ I have seen with the upgraded wires and silicone end coverings from the factory. Unfortunately they used the same bad adhesive that they used on prior versions. They would have been better off using nothing. I would suggest unhooking the wires and use an exacto knife or some other tool to scrape all of that off. Check the wire ends to see if they have been damaged. There shouldn’t be much. If there is, cut back just a bit and crimp new spade connectors and then protect with silicone tape. The wires can be reused if you cut back to clean wire.

This is also the first of the new wiring I have seen burnt. Goes to show you that there is just too much heat buildup in there and installing the auxiliary fans is very much needed. The only other solution I can see is replacing the heating elements with a lower wattage ..... 1500 watt instead of 1800. I have not done the research to see if that is a viable option though.

So, I'm going to assume these wires all need to be replaced...?

How many brews have you done on that machine?

 

[Still Brewn]

So, I'm going to assume these wires all need to be replaced...?

Be sure that check the mash tun also. If there is any discoloration you will want to explore repair options. In my opinion installing the fans is the way to go.

 

[Nate R]

Hey all, happy almost Thanksgiving!
So many "Deals" going around the next few days... but i wonder if MoreBeer is going to discount the Brewie?!?

‐----------

Black Friday Sale Early Access!
(Offer Expires 11/29 at Midnight PT)

Our Biggest Sale of the year is here! We have marked down over 150 products some up to 50% off for Black Friday and we are giving you early access. Thanks for being a Morebeer! newsletter subscriber and have a great Thanksgiving!

To shop our Black Friday Sale, click here

P.S. Be sure to check out our Deal Of The Day page! We have some sweet deals planned there as well. Every day at 9am PT a new deal will be posted. Friday is going to be something electric, stainless steel and heavily discounted.

If you have any questions give us a call at 1-800-600-0033

Cheers!

The MoreBeer! Team

 

[Blazinlow86]

Hey all, happy almost Thanksgiving!
So many "Deals" going around the next few days... but i wonder if MoreBeer is going to discount the Brewie?!?

‐----------

Black Friday Sale Early Access!
(Offer Expires 11/29 at Midnight PT)

Our Biggest Sale of the year is here! We have marked down over 150 products some up to 50% off for Black Friday and we are giving you early access. Thanks for being a Morebeer! newsletter subscriber and have a great Thanksgiving!

To shop our Black Friday Sale, click here

P.S. Be sure to check out our Deal Of The Day page! We have some sweet deals planned there as well. Every day at 9am PT a new deal will be posted. Friday is going to be something electric, stainless steel and heavily discounted.

If you have any questions give us a call at 1-800-600-0033

Cheers!

The MoreBeer! Team

Time to stock up on them if so. How many are you planning to buy. Can never have too many. Cheers

 

[Nate R]

Time to stock up on them if so. How many are you planning to buy. Can never have too many. Cheers

Ha ha ha... touche.

Actually... i was browsing over there... they now have their Brew Sculpture in all electric! Looks super sexy! And super duper expensive!!
Maybe that will go on sale?!?!

 

[Nate R]

Well all... hope your Thanksgivings were just swell!

I had some time to kill and wanted to re-read this thread from the start. So i did and just finished.
(Note- i 'liked' some posts i missed before, but may be a bit old. Helps me bookmark items).
Wow!
I sure hope some day there is a Netflix documentary on this (hey netflix- i will do it!! Gimmie $500,000 and i will!!)
Or at least i hope we find out what happened to Brewie.
If you are hard up for something to do, i suggest a full re-read (unless you have a life).
It is very interesting how a few people predicted some issues early.
All in all, most everyone wanted the Brewie to work. What is REALLY cool for me is that after Brewie went dark, this community came Alive! The peer support (from the google drive files, to the user group, to just this thread) was incredible. It is like once we knew Brewie was gone, we lost all fears of opening up the machine.
Other than 1 negative poster, and 1 who kind-of came around, i see a lot support here- not for the Company Brewie, but for the idea and the actual brewie units. So cool!!

So, anyways... sorry for any weird likes on old posts, but what a fun read. Not 'Moby Dick' worthy, but fun.

Also, one final "Conspiracy Theroy" thought...
What if the company "Brewie" is just out of buisness for the US? It was, after all, the 120v units that had most issues. Shipping is crazy expensive, seems like they never really got a repair partner stateside that worked for them... maybe their idea is go dark and figure out how to be in buisness just in Europe? Maybe finish that commercial size machine?
The website was re-registered in Oct 2019, about a month after they went dark.

Call me crazy, but it IS what I would do if i was in their shoes. Focus on just your continent.

Thoughts?

Anywho... thanks for reading. Again, hope y'all had a great Holiday. Lookin' forward to another easy brew day this weekend.

 

[Nate R]

Hello? Is this thing on? (Terrible!)
Where are all the Brewie users at?
Any issues lately or are people just simply brewing?
Since getting the crimps fixed on my B20 unit i have had several succesful brews.
I also just started using the automatic water inlet feature for brewing... so nice!
(I was using bottled distilled water before, but after seeing a great brewery i love about 1.5 miles from me just charcoal filtering city water i figured why not? Got an rv in line filter and an rv water hose.)

Anyways... brewie.org has been down for about a day now...

Cheers all!

 

[Blazinlow86]

There's only yourself and a few survivor's left. The brewie Facebook page is on its last legs too with even the most diehard fans appearing to have accepted the brewies fate and moved on. Cheers

 

[cubsfan16]

Hello? Is this thing on? (Terrible!)
Where are all the Brewie users at?
Any issues lately or are people just simply brewing?
Since getting the crimps fixed on my B20 unit i have had several succesful brews.
I also just started using the automatic water inlet feature for brewing... so nice!
(I was using bottled distilled water before, but after seeing a great brewery i love about 1.5 miles from me just charcoal filtering city water i figured why not? Got an rv in line filter and an rv water hose.)

Anyways... brewie.org has been down for about a day now...

Cheers all!

I’ve just been brewing. I consider myself one of the lucky ones. I’ve had no issues with my Brewie +. I have around 15-20 batches in. I feel a lot better with all the repair guides out there that I can keep mine rolling. I alternate brews between this and my electric biab set up. I use RV in-line filter and have always used the water inlet. I did put on a pressure reducer at my outlet since I had high pressure (75psi).

 

[Ajes]

Same here - not much going on, the machine works nicely. Most time now is spent trying to figure out how to best use my diy version of the blichmann quick carb.

 

[volx]

There's only yourself and a few survivor's left. The brewie Facebook page is on its last legs too with even the most diehard fans appearing to have accepted the brewies fate and moved on. Cheers

I don't think this is the case. Most have figured out their issues and their machines are working, so there are less reasons to post and ask for help/advice. My Brewie+ has done about 30 brews with ZERO problems since I replaced the heating wires and installed a small fan, as suggested here.

 

[Blazinlow86]

I don't think this is the case. Most have figured out their issues and their machines are working, so there are less reasons to post and ask for help/advice. My Brewie+ has done about 30 brews with ZERO problems since I replaced the heating wires and installed a small fan, as suggested here.

Meh join the Facebook site. The message is pretty clear over there. Cheers

 

[TwistedGray]

I can't believe this thread still has legs.

 

[Ajes]

Of course it does
It's a great place to get help and good ideas for the machine.
The facebook page for brewie owners is actually another great place for good advice and helpfull people.

 

[macgyuver]

I am in the process of refurbishing my 2 Ebay units. Reworking the heater wires, using 10ga wire and High temp terminals, self sealing tape, and high temp electrical tape. Making sure all the screws are tight and installed properly. Installing fans that will blow cool air onto the terminals at the heater to help with the over heating issues that melt the wire and ends. Almost done with the first unit and have just started disassembly of the other unit. Had one that the SD card had died and would not boot. Have since flashed a new card and got the controller up and running. Now have access to the dev mode so I can check all the internals as I reinstall them. Have learned a lot about the units and don't see the original price point with the components that were used. Would like to order a new processor board with a stronger CPU and see if it would increase the speed of the unit. All in all this has been a fun adventure. Will post some pics when I get a chance. Will also post updates but they will be some time in between posts. This is not my primary brew unit so I am working on them in my spare time which is limited. Cheers...

 

[Ajes]

Sounds very interesting!
I'm not sure that it's possible to use the same software with a different processor board (Here I assume you mean the board located by the display - not the mcu board).
It's running a linux OS - and in that regard, any board running linux could work. However, there some connections to the display, and to the mcu board. This means you would have to figure these connections out by yourself and connect them manually. Or get a different display and arduino (mcu) board, and set that up accordingly. This IS doable - but it's likely a bit of an "adventure". And then the Brewie application might not work as intended, so you'd also have to rewrite that from scratch too...

Oh look at me sounding all negative and gloomy.... this is actually something that I would like to do, but I'm still brushing up on my C++ skills...
BUT if someone were to do this (use a more regular raspberry type board, use a regular display, use a regular arduino mcu, and write up a new program) - I think most Brewie owners would be extremely interested

 

[CircleGetSquare]

Sounds very interesting!
I'm not sure that it's possible to use the same software with a different processor board (Here I assume you mean the board located by the display - not the mcu board).
It's running a linux OS - and in that regard, any board running linux could work. However, there some connections to the display, and to the mcu board. This means you would have to figure these connections out by yourself and connect them manually. Or get a different display and arduino (mcu) board, and set that up accordingly. This IS doable - but it's likely a bit of an "adventure". And then the Brewie application might not work as intended, so you'd also have to rewrite that from scratch too...

Oh look at me sounding all negative and gloomy.... this is actually something that I would like to do, but I'm still brushing up on my C++ skills...
BUT if someone were to do this (use a more regular raspberry type board, use a regular display, use a regular arduino mcu, and write up a new program) - I think most Brewie owners would be extremely interested

I'm a UX/UI designer by trade with some front-end chops. Would be happy to lend a hand to this kind of endeavor in any way I could.

 

[Nate R]

Well... today's brewing kinda went a little sideways on my b20 (original) unit.
I am on my third brew using the auto-in water for the brewing water.
Set up machine, calibrated, started it up.
All went fine, until the water had pumped over the mashing.
Mashing started, and then the water failed to stop filling for the sparge water.
Thankfully I caught it in time- and here is how I think I have saved the brew:
-I fully drained the boil side
-I drained the mash side and saved it
-I re-started the brew, and used manual water
-I just used the mash drain for the initial water
-I will manually add the sparge water.

Hopefully i can save this brew!

I know this was an issue in the past, but as i recall it was all either software or calibration (not doing it) related. Any other thoughts?

Thanks all!

 

[macgyuver]

Well... today's brewing kinda went a little sideways on my b20 (original) unit.
I am on my third brew using the auto-in water for the brewing water.
Set up machine, calibrated, started it up.
All went fine, until the water had pumped over the mashing.
Mashing started, and then the water failed to stop filling for the sparge water.
Thankfully I caught it in time- and here is how I think I have saved the brew:
-I fully drained the boil side
-I drained the mash side and saved it
-I re-started the brew, and used manual water
-I just used the mash drain for the initial water
-I will manually add the sparge water.

Hopefully i can save this brew!

I know this was an issue in the past, but as i recall it was all either software or calibration (not doing it) related. Any other thoughts?

Thanks all!

From what I remember it is an issue when the software was updated manually by writing the SD image on the SD card but the MCU firmware was not updated. In this situation the calibrations are off and will not function properly with auto water. There is a post somewhere about how to update everything using a Pi to update the MCU and writing the SD image to match.

 

[Nate R]

Well... today's brewing kinda went a little sideways on my b20 (original) unit.
I am on my third brew using the auto-in water for the brewing water.
Set up machine, calibrated, started it up.
All went fine, until the water had pumped over the mashing.
Mashing started, and then the water failed to stop filling for the sparge water.
Thankfully I caught it in time- and here is how I think I have saved the brew:
-I fully drained the boil side
-I drained the mash side and saved it
-I re-started the brew, and used manual water
-I just used the mash drain for the initial water
-I will manually add the sparge water.

Hopefully i can save this brew!

I know this was an issue in the past, but as i recall it was all either software or calibration (not doing it) related. Any other thoughts?

Thanks all!

Thanks @macgyuver for the reminder.
I am happy to report- rest of the brew day went great. Hit my O.G. spot on, so not a loss that i can see.
Also, on the subsiquent quick clean, and full clean runs- no issues with overfill.

Iirc, i *may* have been trying to log back onto the ap and/or has it just time out... so... i guess the moral for me is- keep an eye out for the auto water in cycle and dont fuss with the app around that time too.

 

[Ajes]

Im curious about the software too. Since this is the B20, l dont know whether its impotant to update the firmware too. I think someone managed to update the firmware on their B20 using commands through a terminal, so Id suggest trying that out first.

 

[Hamboner]

I did the manual SD card update on my ebay unit (copied from my 'factory-updated' B20), then flashed the microcontroller firmware to get things working correctly (post of page 57). The only issue i have noticed now is that during a full clean, right after it transfers the cleaning water to the mash tank, it always stops and says 'no water in the boil tank.' This is odd because there shouldn't be at that point and i don't think my other system does that. All i have to do is hit OK (i think the warning tells me to put the correct amount in even though i have the auto water inlet on) and it continues the clean normally.

Regarding the microcontroller flashing, my B20 has 3 possible files on the SD card. There are labelled:
Control.ino.brewie1.hex -> This one made my machine work fine
Control.ino.brewie2.hex -> This one booted fine, but nothing would work (no control over valves, or pumps, mash heater was able to turn on at least once though)
Control.ino.mega.hex -> this one worked seemingly fine at first, but then didn't actuate the cooling inlet valve on a test brew, also didn't actuate any valves on startup like usual, also didn't open the valves after hitting the side power button and hitting 'yes i want to shut down' like i've come to expect of the newer software version

Apparently my hardware likes the brewie1 file so thats where i ended up.

In other notes, in the ebay system i've been playing with the bags. I found if i go with alot tighter grind than i'm used to and stack the bags on top of each other i get the best efficiency - even better than my arborfab basket.

All in all, both of mine have been flawless (aside from the above cleaning 'issue') for quite some time now, which is great, but also means i'm here less posting about it. With a 9 month old baby crawling around, this system is the reason i'm still able to brew, albeit less hands on than i've ever been used to. About to put a magic hat 'feast of fools' clone in the secondary with some raspberries tonight. I like it and more importantly, so does the wife....

Recipe for anyone interested:

9.25 lbs. (4.2 kg) Crisp 2-row pale malt
0.5 lbs. (0.23 kg) CaraPils malt (15 °L)
1.66 lbs. (0. 75 kg) crystal malt (70 °L)
0.26 lbs. (0.12 kg) chocolate malt
1.0 lb. (0.45 kg) roasted barley
1.0 fl. oz. (3 .5 mL) blackstrap molasses
5.0 lbs. (2.3 kg) fresh raspberries
(secondary)

8 AAU Warrior hops (60 mins)
(0.5 oz./14 g of 16% alpha acids)

Wyeast 1187 (Ringwood Ale) yeast

0. 75 cups corn sugar (for priming)

Step by Step
Mash at 156 oF (69 °C). Boil wort for
90 minutes adding all hops after 30 minutes.
Add molasses with 15 minutes left
in boil. Ferment at 70 °F (21 °C) for 7
days. Add raspberries in secondary.

 

[Ajes]

Regarding the microcontroller flashing, my B20 has 3 possible files on the SD card. There are labelled:
Control.ino.brewie1.hex -> This one made my machine work fine
Control.ino.brewie2.hex -> This one booted fine, but nothing would work (no control over valves, or pumps, mash heater was able to turn on at least once though)
Control.ino.mega.hex -> this one worked seemingly fine at first, but then didn't actuate the cooling inlet valve on a test brew, also didn't actuate any valves on startup like usual, also didn't open the valves after hitting the side power button and hitting 'yes i want to shut down' like i've come to expect of the newer software version

I suspect that the brewie1.hex is for the B20 and the brewie2.hex is for the B+
Maybe the last one is for the very first version of the brewie?

 

[jordo_99]

So...I've already read up from page 40 so I'm fairly comfortable knowing that buying an eBay B20 would come with no support at all but I'm considering buying one anyway.

Specifically, I'm hoping that I could get a B20 up and running but just fall back on scavenging it for parts for an automated Brutus 20 system using my current BK and cooler setup (just move all the pumps and values out and wire them up to my current system--I'd do full cycle tests before drilling holes).

I'm very interested in going electric and getting more automation added over time but this could get me there very quickly and quite affordably.

I'd originally just planned on building my own with an Adriuno Mega and BruControl for mash steps and slowly expand from there (cost to implement all the sensors and valves gets pricey really quick)...but this has caught my interest due to just how much automation is incorporated in the Brewie and the extremely low cost of a failed unit.



So I've got a few questions here that may help me decide which way to go.

1) It's been a while since anybody posted about the eBay listings and I'm wondering if they've been picked over already

2) Does anybody happen to know if the sensors, pumps or valves to work with an Arduino/Wemos controller? I feel like they should as it's mostly just electrical signals but could take a lot of trial and error to get them dialed in.

3) How easily could we build recipes if Brewie's site goes down? I already have BrewSmith and I'm extremely comfortable with custom profiles so I could create Brewie recipes...but can they get added reasonably easily into the system?

4) Am I just nuts to be thinking about this?

 

[Nate R]

So...I've already read up from page 40 so I'm fairly comfortable knowing that buying an eBay B20 would come with no support at all but I'm considering buying one anyway.

Specifically, I'm hoping that I could get a B20 up and running but just fall back on scavenging it for parts for an automated Brutus 20 system using my current BK and cooler setup (just move all the pumps and values out and wire them up to my current system--I'd do full cycle tests before drilling holes).

I'm very interested in going electric and getting more automation added over time but this could get me there very quickly and quite affordably.

I'd originally just planned on building my own with an Adriuno Mega and BruControl for mash steps and slowly expand from there (cost to implement all the sensors and valves gets pricey really quick)...but this has caught my interest due to just how much automation is incorporated in the Brewie and the extremely low cost of a failed unit.



So I've got a few questions here that may help me decide which way to go.

1) It's been a while since anybody posted about the eBay listings and I'm wondering if they've been picked over already

2) Does anybody happen to know if the sensors, pumps or valves to work with an Arduino/Wemos controller?

3) How easily could we build recipes if Brewie's site goes down? I already have BrewSmith and I'm extremely comfortable with custom profiles so I could create Brewie recipes...but can they get added reasonably easily into the system?

4) Am I just nuts to be thinking about this?

My $0.02 worth...

#1: my guess? Yes best units went first. Only a guess.

#2: i cannot answer

#3: super duper easy. We have all the Brewie brand brewpad recipies. It takes about 3 minutes to program a recipie once you have it down. Quicker if you use the app.

#4. I think it is crazy to use the brewie inside parts for another system. Probably much better ways to do that.
They key is how simple and relatively small the brewie is- so i would say if you plan to incorporate parts into the brewie go for it.

 

[Ajes]

2) Does anybody happen to know if the sensors, pumps or valves to work with an Arduino/Wemos controller? I feel like they should as it's mostly just electrical signals but could take a lot of trial and error to get them dialed in.


4) Am I just nuts to be thinking about this?

2:
Technically yes. There's about 10 valves, two pumps and two heating elements. These are being controlled by an arduino chip. However, I don't think a single wemos controller will have enough pins on it to control all that - you likely have to expand it with some 1-wire controllers.
(this is likely what is on the proprietary mcu board in the brewie - as mentioned it has an arduino chip, but there's some other stuff on there too).

4: nope! If you like tinkering (like me). In any case you will learn something about all the stuff involved, when messing with it.
I originally bought my brewie because I wanted to see if I could implement a controller of my own design. However the machine works so well for me, that I haven't felt like changing anything.

 

[kh54s10]

1) It's been a while since anybody posted about the eBay listings and I'm wondering if they've been picked over already

2) Does anybody happen to know if the sensors, pumps or valves to work with an Arduino/Wemos controller? I feel like they should as it's mostly just electrical signals but could take a lot of trial and error to get them dialed in.

3) How easily could we build recipes if Brewie's site goes down? I already have BrewSmith and I'm extremely comfortable with custom profiles so I could create Brewie recipes...but can they get added reasonably easily into the system?

4) Am I just nuts to be thinking about this?

1) Read any eBay listings carefully, what I have seen described here is that some of them are not complete with everything you would need.

4) It depends. You will most likely have to do a lot of tinkering to get the thing to work. If that is OK with you - try to get a complete unit. I for one saw all the problems right from the beginning and was glad that the price was way out of my range. Now, with having to re-engineer the thing to make it work.... Not for me at any price.

 

[c06u]

Thanks @macgyuver for the reminder.
I am happy to report- rest of the brew day went great. Hit my O.G. spot on, so not a loss that i can see.
Also, on the subsiquent quick clean, and full clean runs- no issues with overfill.

Iirc, i *may* have been trying to log back onto the ap and/or has it just time out... so... i guess the moral for me is- keep an eye out for the auto water in cycle and dont fuss with the app around that time too.

The app can get you cross wise fast, do not try and run the brew via your pad or phone, I use my pad to configure and load recipes only then make damn sure you double check the load into the machine, I had one that dropped the Sparge water and caught it in time, the app appears to link and disconnect at will, a nice size display mod on the machine is what we need or a blue tooth link as wireless tends to be very unstable and can lag

 

[jordo_99]

Thanks to all three of you for the thoughtful replies. It's definitely helping me make a calculated decision here.

@Nate R

I definitely agree with you that the system is well designed and compact which is a huge plus for me (I have to bring everything out of a closet when I brew..but this looks nice enough that I might get away with leaving it out).

I'm mostly looking for a backup plan already in case I get a unit which just isn't salvageable (mold / contamination / no accessories) or turns out to be too expensive to repair...I've already got a 2 vessel setup with a pump so I'm almost there with a bunch of end-points to control)

@Ajes

That's VERY encouraging that it's controller is an adruino...I was looking at Arduino Mega and BruControl if I were to convert my existing brewrig!

@kh54s10

yeah...it's frustrating that the ebay listings don't include pictures considering there's so many of them and the descriptions don't say much of anything.

I tried messaging the seller but who knows if/when they'll get back to me.

I don't mind tinkering and already do a lot of it outside of brewing (most recent example is adding heated grips and Li-ion battery for my snowblower)